A Lesson before Dying

Grant Wiggins has been teaching on a plantation outside Bayonne, Louisiana, for several years when a slow-witted man named Jefferson is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Jefferson claims he is innocent of the crime. He says he was on his way to a bar, but changed his mind and decided to tag along with two men who were on their way to a liquor store. When the men arrived to the store, the …

…take place, he has his students to kneel by their desks in honor of Jefferson. He steps outside the classroom, distressed. He knows he should have attended the execution. A few minutes later, a deputy comes down from the courthouse and informs Grant that the execution is over. He assures Grant that Jefferson was the bravest man in the room that morning. Grant looks out over the town, numb, and discovers that he is crying.